Top 5 UFC Fights That Never Happened

The Ultimate Fighting Championship does its part in listening to the fans in order to ensure that some of the most exciting and anticipated matchups come to fruition. Sometimes, however, you just cannot make them all happen.

There are always going to be matchups that are exciting to some fans but not to others. But then there are these matchups. The ones where you say, how did that not happen? Or, how has that not happened yet?

Some of these blockbusters still have a chance to happen but ultimately are probably past their optimal date.

Welterweight: Jon Fitch vs. Matt Hughes

One of the best welterweights of all time, there are still lots of top talents that Jon Fitch has yet to face or will never have the chance to.

We want to see him against Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz and more.

What would have been awesome though, would be a matchup against the second-best welterweight of all time, and fellow "grinder", Matt Hughes.

Three years ago, this fight would have been optimal. Who would frustrate who? Whose MMA-adapted wrestling game would be more polished? If it does ever happen, it will not nearly be as interesting as what could have been.

Runner-up: Paul Daley vs. Thiago Alves

The division's two premier strikers. A championship kickboxer, Englishman Daley has power in his hands equivalent to a striker two divisions above him. Alves fluidly mixes up all kinds of powerful strikes and has earned the moniker "Muay Thai Wrecking Machine".

Middleweight: Chris Leben vs. Robbie Lawler

This one still has a very good chance of happening, and not only do I hope that it does, it really SHOULD.

For one, they are two of the most infamous sluggers in the middleweight division, but also, they are two of the most notoriously heavy bearded and handed fighters in the entire sport.

At times they have both looked like potential world beaters, and at times they have both been humbled.

If you do not want to use the word "legend", at least consider these two fan-favorite middleweights as icons of the sport.

If the matchup does not happen, it will indeed be a travesty.

Runner-up: Rich Franklin vs. Chael Sonnen

The two most accomplished UFC middleweights behind the incomparable Anderson Silva (followed by Okami and Marquardt). Would Sonnen be able to grind out Franklin like he has all his other foes or would Franklin's power and slick ground game be able to turn the tables?

Light Heavyweight: Chuck Liddell vs. Dan Henderson

Although his early and latter years are in the UFC, Dan Henderson spent much of his career competing overseas for Pride in Japan. That means there were other great matchups he missed out on, like against fellow legend Tito Ortiz, for example.

What we truly missed, however, was a clash between Henderson and Liddell.

Excellent wrestlers, iron-chinned and with nuclear reactors in their mitts. Despite their respective wrestling abilities, both warriors definitively earned legendary status by opting to keep fights standing and slinging bombs against their opposition.

Jackson fell in love with boxing but Nogueira arguably has the best technical boxing in the division. Neither man appears to be still in their prime, but a potential matchup would still be highly relevant to the upper-levels of the division.

Heavyweight: Randy Couture vs. Frank Mir

How is it that the two most prolific heavyweights in UFC history never crossed paths in the Octagon (Tim Sylvia comes in third)?

Couture might have been the best in the game from the clinch but the larger Mir is also an expert and possess devastating submission abilities in addition.

In his upcoming title fight against Junior Dos Santos, Mir has the chance to join Couture as the only men to win the coveted UFC heavyweight belt three separate times.

Runner-up: Andrei Arlovski vs. Mirko Filipovic

At the height of their respective careers, these strikers were considered the scariest and most dangerous fighters on the planet. Unfortunately, Arlosvsky left the UFC too early in his career while Filipovic joined too late. This fight would have been explosive.